Dulszczyzna. Przemiany znaczenia

Abstract

The author of this essay focuses on the today’s understanding of the concept of Dulska-ness. The term originates from the surname of protagonist in The Morality of Mrs. Dulska (1906) by the Polish writer and actress Gabriela Zapolska (1857– 1921) whose 100th death anniversary was celebrated in Poland in 2021. Dulska-ness became in the 20th century a synonym of self-righteousness, hypocrisy, philistinism and double moral standards. However, the concept is still current in Polish. In the early 21st century Dulska-ness entered the political and moral discourses. In the struggle between the proponents of progress or tradition, continuing in the Polish culture since the 18th century, both parties have accused each other of lie, duplicity, using the concept of Dulska-ness. The author of this text describes the play by Zapolska as a polysemous work. However, all today’s attempts at revealing Dulska-ness in Polish literature prove to be simplifications of a simplification. The polysemous play has been reduced in its social reception to the concept of Dulska-ness (= hypocrisy). This tragic farce with elements of serious reflection on our world is reduced by today’s reinterpretations to a social and political satire.